Description

Four thousand years before the events depicted in the Star Wars movies, the political and ideological situation is not much different from what we have seen in the prequel trilogy: the Republic and the Jedi Order are fighting against two powerful Sith lords, Darth Revan and his apprentice, Darth Malak. It is said that the former was successfully defeated by the Jedi, and that Darth Malak betrayed his mentor and is planning to take on the Republic by himself. His aggression is so successful that some Jedi have decided to join his ranks. A seemingly ordinary soldier of the Republic is traveling aboard a space ship that is attacked by Darth Malak's minions. Narrowly escaping, the soldier meets a female Jedi named Bastila, one of those who have fought Darth Revan in the decisive battle. With her help, the soldier must learn to become a Jedi, stop Darth Malak, and discover the truth about his or her own past.

Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing game that uses the Star Wars D20 rule system, which is similar to the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Character development and combat are handled similarly to BioWare's previous RPGs such as Baldur's Gate series. Combat engine follows similar "real-time with pause" rules. There are only three active combatants on the player's side (as opposed to six in Baldur's Gate). Several characters join the party and can be switched at the player's will.

Eventually, the protagonist will have to train at the Jedi academy to earn a lightsaber and force moves. Force powers include stun, force pull (which pulls opponents or objects toward the player-controlled character), the Jedi Mind Trick, which persuades people to see things the player's way, and many others. The player has various weapons at his or her disposal, from the lightsaber to blasters, grenades, ion rifles, etc.

Throughout the game, the player will visit many Star Wars locations that appeared in the movies, such as Kashyyyk, the homeworld of the Wookiees, the desert planet of Tatooine, and others. Interacting with characters in various ways and performing side quests influences the protagonist's stand with the forces of Light and Darkness. The player can turn the main character into a flawless Jedi, a ruthless Sith, or anything in between. Some of the player's choices influence major events that occur within the storyline.

Trivia

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Development

Bastila Shan's character was originally meant to be Vima Sunrider, a Jedi from Dark Horse Comics' Tales of the Jedi series. The name Bastila was originally meant for Juhani's character. Eventually, it was decided to create a different character rather than use Vima Sunrider. The new character was named Bastila, while the other character who bore this name was named Juhani.

Endings

There are two different endings, based on the choices your main character makes. A third, funny ending can be accessed by pressing a button combination just before the final confrontation with Darth Malak.

Inconsistencies

Despite the nature of Hutts seen in the Star Wars films and various literature, none of the Hutts met in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a kingpin of organized crime, and most have almost nothing to do with criminal activity at all.

Juhani

When the player first meets the female Jedi Juhani, they can choose whether to turn her back to the light side or kill her. When doing the latter, the player will have a showdown with another female Jedi who claims to be her lover (she also makes an appearance later in Korriban in which she makes a final attempt to avenge her lover). Furthermore, when playing as a female character and taking her with, she will occasionally flirt with the player in classic Baldur's Gate II fashion and, by the end of the game, confess to have romantic feelings (which the player can return). These two females are thus the first homosexual characters in the Star Wars universe.

Juhani is actually a boy's name in Finland and Estonia.

References

Naturally the game features numerous references to the Star Wars movies:

The line "My name's [your character's name], I'm here to save you", which is what was said by Luke Skywalker when saving Leia Organa.

Mission Vao says "I have a bad feeling about this" at least twice. This is an homage to a repeated line in each of the Star Wars films.

Probable ancestors of characters seen in the films can be seen in this game or are at least mentioned in literature. Examples include: Galduran Calrissian - Probable ancestor of Lando Calrissian, Cassus Fett - Probable ancestor of Jango and Boba Fett, Komad Fortuna - Probable ancestor of Bib Fortuna, Admiral Forn Dodonna - Probable ancestor of General Jan Dodonna. The wealthy Organa family is also mentioned early on in the game.

T3-M4 and Ebon Hawk are modeled in part after R2-D2 and the Millennium Falcon respectively.

Darth Malak was modeled in part after Darth Vader. The game programmers wanted to create a Dark Lord of the Sith who would instill images of Vader's character without being a near-complete carbon copy. Malak was given a cybernetic vocal implant, and the rest of his body was left alone.

On Taris, the player has a goal to capture Bendak Starkiller. Starkiller was the name that Lucas originally wanted to use for Luke before changing it to Skywalker.

Secrets

Some droids are doing the robot dance. They pivot at the waist and jerk their arms in a style that emulates the popular 80s dance.